Ole Abildgaard & Dejan Cukic, Cafe Victor 2003

Ole Abildgaard & Ronnie Rocket, Cafe Victor 2003

Ole Abildgaard & Mads Ulrich, Cafe Victor 2003

Blogging from Clerkenwell, Islington Borough, London, England

Call me crazy, but on my travels around the world, I sometimes like to visit a local bar. Sometimes, I manage to find a really good one, either by mad luck or by analytical city research. Sometimes, it is a combination of the two. Recently, on a stop over in London on my way to Brazil, I stayed at the Zetter hotel in Clerkenwell. I haven't been to the Zetter since the opening party in 2004, which I honestly don't remember. I was there with some heavy drinking friends.

After enjoying a wonderful meal at the Z ("a restaurant with rooms"), my Norwegian assistant and I decided to hit the bars. Actually, we just went across the street to a bar called Match. Match is a cool bar. I will tell you why:

1. It is in Clerkenwell, which is my favourite London hood. (I don't want to go to Chelsea).
2. It is just across the street from the Z, so you can literally crawl home (and we all know London traffic!)
3. They have a head chef called Johnny Ho. They have a bar chef called Mikael Nilsson, who I don't know, but the name sounds like an extremely fast race car driver (or a really cool tennis player).
4. They have a drink called STEVE MCQUEEN (his Porsche is on exhibit in the TAG Heuer department of Harrods).

Oh, and by the way: Clerkenwell actually have their own little, free pocket-sized music magazine (Swell Music)--you can visit the magazine online here.

Bonus trivia: Zaha Hadid's office is in Clerkenwell. Don't miss her show at the Rove Gallery. More here and here.

Cheers.

EXTRA, EXTRA:
There is a five-star review of Match Bar here.
Review from The World's Best Bars right here.

Kitchentable foot rest mounted

Kitchentable foot rest mounted

Blogging from the airspace above North Korea

LIVE REPORT FROM THE ASIAN HEMISPHERE So this is weird: I am now airborne and connected to the Boeing Connexion Network on our Airbus A330. The passengers can follow the route on the onboard screens and right now we are flying over the exact spot, where Kim Jung Il exploded a nuclear device less than 48 hours ago. Supersonic Japanese military aircrafts are circling the area, making chemical tests for general evidence of the nuke provocation and nuclear radiation specifically. I wonder why the Swedish pilots didn't change the flight plan accordingly.

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TELEGRAM:
Typhoons are terrifyingly close to me.
Kim Jung Il just dropped a nuclear bomb.
My credit cards are maxed out.

I am coming home.

RR.

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Blogging from Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan

Just a quick note for good luck. The plane is leaving in five minutes. I better go. This Lenovo 3000 in the United business lounge is also difficult to operate. (And I have NOT been drinking.) It keeps changing to Japanese letters. Will post from the air again if I can get online on the SK984.

And We're Off

The Korean Air pilots decided to fly anyway, so with 4 hours delay, the KE 001 took off for Los Angeles with a stop in Tokyo, where I got off. I am at the Park Hyatt now, it is raining heavily and the typhoon XANGSANE is on its evil way. Apparently its gonna stay here fort a couple of days, so maybe I will wait and go to the F1 on sunday and watch the qualifying on Star Sports or whatever they have here. Heading for the Peak Bar for a nightcap. Good night, everybody. Take care.

Flight cancelled

It's me again. The flight has been cancelled. Apparently the typhoon Xangsene is heading for Tokyo! Stuck in an airport again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Pacific_typhoon_season
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/warn/

Blogging from Incheon International Airport, Seoul, Korea

I am at the Daum Internet Lounge (3000 won per hour) waiting for my flight: Korean Air KE 001 from Seoul to Tokyo (Narita Airport). I will check into the Park Hyatt hotel (famous for the "Lost In Translation" movie) in Tokyo. Tomorrow I leave Tokyo again for the qualifying sessions for the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix. The race is sunday. It should take about 3 hours from Tokyo with the express train and a taxi.

Ronnie Rocket Asian Tour 2006:

One man.
Two Formula Ones.
Three countries.
Four hotels.
Five cities.
Six airplanes.